Overview
The increasing demand for maintaining a pollution free environment and an alarming rate of depletion of fossil fuels have intensified the search for clean and efficient power generating systems based on renewable sources of energy and its storage. Realizing this need, a new department, Fuel Cell & Battery (FCB), was formed in CSIR-CGCRI, Kolkata in December 2004. The mandate of the division is to develop viable technologies in different important and upcoming areas in the non-conventional energy sector. The major areas of research in the Division are: solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), lithium-ion battery (LIB) and mixed ionic and electronic conductor (MIEC) based dense ceramic membrane for gas separation. Activities on Solid Oxide Electrolyser Cell (SOEC) have also been initiated. Within a short span of time the Division has established a world class laboratory necessary for research in advanced areas as mentioned above. The R&D in the area of SOFC technology, in particular, has led to the successful demonstration for the first time in the country of several 500 W class working SOFC stacks developed under CSIR-NMITLI Projects.